Monday, November 30, 2009

Bowden to announce retirement Tuesday

Report: Bowden to announce retirement Tuesday

Tallahassee, FL (Sports Network) - It appears Bobby Bowden's legendary 34-year tenure as the head coach at Florida State will come to an end Tuesday.

The Tallahassee Democrat reported Monday night that Bowden will announce his retirement. The newspaper reports Bowden is expected to be offered a non- coaching position at the school for an unspecified amount of time. He's also reportedly entitled to $1 million upon his retirement as part of a clause in his coaching contract.

The newspaper reported that Bowden met with school president T.K. Wetherell and athletic director Randy Spetman for about an hour on Monday morning. The legendary coach told a group at a booster luncheon that he will again talk with Wetherell and Spetman on Tuesday.

Bowden has stated that he wanted to return for the 2010 season, which would have been his 35th at the school.

The Seminoles are just 6-6 in 2009 and finished 4-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, but they are expected to receive a bowl invitation for the 28th consecutive season. It's unclear if Bowden will coach that bowl game.

Should Florida State lose in its bowl game, the six wins would be the fewest for a Bowden-coached Seminoles team since the 1981 squad finished 6-5. It would also mark Bowden's first losing record since his first Florida State squad was 5-6 in 1976.

Bowden's job security came under fire earlier this season after a 2-3 start, including an 0-2 mark in ACC play. It was reported that some Florida State alumni questioned whether the 2009 campaign should be Bowden's last.

The Seminoles have a transition plan in place, with offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher set to take over the reins when Bowden eventually steps down or is forced out. Fisher was named the head coach in waiting after joining the Seminoles in 2007 following seven seasons in a similar role with LSU.

One of the nation's premier teams in the late 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, Florida State has not posted a 10-win season since 2003. The Seminoles also had 14 straight seasons of double-digit winning records from 1987-2000 -- a span that also included a final AP ranking among the top five.

Bowden has won two national championships -- in 1993 and 1999 -- since joining the school in 1976 and 12 conference titles, including nine in a row from 1992-2000.

The 80-year-old Hall of Famer has 388 career victories, second all-time behind only Penn State's Joe Paterno. Bowden was also the head coach at Samford from 1959-62 and was the head coach at West Virginia from 1970-75.